I Tried a Full Coverage Foundation and I Liked It

The gravitational pull of a new complexion product is strong. I have my favs but I find that formulas always improve. How can I not investigate? I obliged that feeling to give this triangular tube by Hourglass a try. Goes by the name Vanish and is probably the most concentrated foundation I’ve ever worn. A little scary to go from my Glossier Skin Tint to a formula with double the amount of pigment than a traditional foundation. But, fear not, this is Hourglass. I trust in the makers of the Ambient Light. Somehow Vanish disappears on your skin, living up to the promise of invisible full coverage. There isn’t a dark circle, blemish, redness or spot that this cannot handle with ease. I found a perfect match in the shade Linen. Dare I say this feels lighter than even my tinted moisturizer? I noticed that throughout the day it doesn’t wear off but I don’t get any oil or residue or redness creeping. My skin looks the same all day: no extra concealing or layering needed.

There was a learning curve, however. I opted not to get the Vanish Foundation Brush (same price as the foundation itself!) in favor of using one of the many brushes I already have. There’s no doubt this brush is probably the perfect match but I couldn’t quite justify that when I have so many brushes already. My results varied but the stars eventually aligned. If at first you don’t succeed, pick up another brush and try again.

I started every morning by dabbing about 4-6 triangular spots directly from the tube to the center of my face.

First, I tried my fingers. Nope. While the creamy formula adjusts to your body temperature almost immediately, fingers just don’t spread it around enough. Too much work.

I was certain this was a job for my Sigma Beauty 3DHD Kabuki Brush. GUYS, this brush is incredible. It is super dense and has ridges and curves to navigate tricky to reach spots. While it diffused the foundation around pretty seamlessly, I still felt like I could tell I was wearing makeup.

I use the Real Techniques Triangle Foundation Brush mostly for liquid highlighters or bronzers. It has a flat edge and tapered edges so moves around the contours of your face well. I found it blended out the Vanish really well around my nose and lips but I didn’t feel like the coverage was as even on the sides of my face.

RMS Skin2Skin Foundation Brush most closely resembles fingertips. If you look at the top of this brush you see a swirl of fibers at all different lengths, this helps you get just the right amount of product on the skin. With Vanish, it blends and physically picks up the triangular dabs and moves them around the face for even coverage.

There isn’t much the Beautyblender can’t do. Admittedly, I’m a little lazy with mine. I like it for blending concealer or diffusing highlighter but get fatigued with a full face of foundation. It’s me, not you, Beautyblender.

Final verdict? RMS is where it’s at. It makes sense given that the RMS “Un” Cover Up and Vanish are similar creamy, concentrated bases. I highly recommend both, especially if full coverage foundations are your jam.